I just tried some Rotella T 15w40. No difference to my shifting. Still feels like the clutch is not total disengaging. Still have to rev match to change gear. Very annoying. But mine only has 150 miles odo. Hoping problem will soon go away, like somebody said. I'm abusing the clutch as much as I can to break 'em in faster.

How much free play do you have on the clutch lever when you jiggle it? Measure the gap between the lever and the body when you pull the slack out of the cable but don't cause the lever on the engine to move.

How much free play do you have on the clutch lever when you jiggle it? Measure the gap between the lever and the body when you pull the slack out of the cable but don't cause the lever on the engine to move.

I've run Tusk filters for several years now with no complaints.

Measuring at the tip of the lever. I've tried from zero freeplay to 1/2 inch. Even with zero freeplay, the clutch is not totally disengaged.

Also, my hands are too small to reach the lever if it is zero free play. My short fingers prefer at least 1/2 inch free play.

I think my only recourse is to drill another hole on the clutch release arm, closer to the center of rotation. I know this will make the lever feel heavier. Has anyone try to drill it? There's no much metal left to drill. I wonder how much heavier it will feel?

I just tried some Rotella T 15w40. No difference to my shifting. Still feels like the clutch is not total disengaging. Still have to rev match to change gear. Very annoying. But mine only has 150 miles odo. Hoping problem will soon go away, like somebody said. I'm abusing the clutch as much as I can to break 'em in faster.

Up-shifting has never been a problem on my bike. I have had difficulty engaging a lower gear (i.e., can't get into 1st and end up accelerating from a stop in 2nd), especially when the engine is hot. What's frustrating (in terms of finding a fix) is that the problem is intermittent -- it can come and go during the same ride.

Measuring at the tip of the lever. I've tried from zero freeplay to 1/2 inch. Even with zero freeplay, the clutch is not totally disengaged.

Also, my hands are too small to reach the lever if it is zero free play. My short fingers prefer at least 1/2 inch free play.

I think my only recourse is to drill another hole on the clutch release arm, closer to the center of rotation. I know this will make the lever feel heavier. Has anyone try to drill it? There's no much metal left to drill. I wonder how much heavier it will feel?

That might be your problem. You want 2-3mm free play between the clutch lever and the HOUSING. Measured where the cable connects to the lever. A simple way is to use a nickel, you should be able to insert a nickel in the gap between the cable end of the clutch lever and the housing.

If you can't reach the levers you could consider getting some adjustable ones that would allow you to have less reach to the lever.

Question concerning the right side "oil drain plug" on the underside of the bike.

I realize now that this is not really an oil drain plug. I see it is supposedly a plug to retain a spring and pin that would apparently ride in a groove in the shift drum.

There was no such spring or pin in my bike when I removed the plug, nor can I find any such items on the microfiche. The "gear shifting" microfiche shows the plug and washer but nothing else. Is it possible that the spring and pin that would interface with the shift drum are not used on this model? I am working on a 1996 DR200SE, and have looked at microfiche for several different model years, none show a pin and spring. thanks in advance

I guess I have answered my own question by researching a bit more
There is nothing missing. The DR200 does not use the shift drum cam stop and spring that normally live under this oil drain plug looking bolt. Many similar models such as the SP125 SP200 and DR125se DO use the stopper and spring but for some reason the 200SE does not.

so I did not lose anything doing this oil change aside from several hours of my life...

I guess I have answered my own question by researching a bit more
There is nothing missing. The DR200 does not use the shift drum cam stop and spring that normally live under this oil drain plug looking bolt. Many similar models such as the SP125 SP200 and DR125se DO use the stopper and spring but for some reason the 200SE does not.

so I did not lose anything doing this oil change aside from several hours of my life...

Your effort is appreciated...I never touched that second plug because I wasn't sure if a locating pin was behind it. Good to know it's not there.

Up-shifting has never been a problem on my bike. I have had difficulty engaging a lower gear (i.e., can't get into 1st and end up accelerating from a stop in 2nd), especially when the engine is hot. What's frustrating (in terms of finding a fix) is that the problem is intermittent -- it can come and go during the same ride.

when you're at a light in neutral, and the bike won't shift into first, pull in and let go of the clutch, then try shifting into first. if that doesn't work, pop the clutch while in neutral again, then try shifting into first.

sometimes most of the bikes I've ridden need a little push for the bike to go into gear...usually for me this means rocking the bike back and forth, but on the dr I just disengage/engage the clutch once or twice

The problem is definitely not the clutch cable tension. I even once tried adjusting the tension very tight, with no freeplay, but the shifting was still difficult. My cable is set according to the manual now--0.5 inch freeplay at the lever tip. My bike has 200 miles odo now, and it hasn't gotten any better, and gotten slightly worse. I'm going to send the bike back to the dealer.

Btw, the used bike I test drove shifted smoothly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJ-Brett

Why not just pop the side cover off and find out what is going on with the clutch?

The problem is definitely not the clutch cable tension. In the dozen of bikes I've owned, I was always able to set the cable tension very loose to accomodate my small hands. You shouldn't have to set the cable so precisely tight to make the shifting work. There's definitely something going on in the clutch. My bike has 200 miles odo now, and it hasn't gotten any better, and gotten slightly worse. I'm going to send the bike back to the dealer.

Btw, the used bike I test drove shifted smoothly.

I know from experience with my DR200 that with the clutch cable misadjusted, the shifting was stiff and difficult. Setting it up according to the manual cleared up the problem.